Andrew Han
An Investigative Political Analysis of the Game of Thrones Universe
Warning: Essay contains MASSIVE spoilers, read at your own discretion.
Game of Thrones, a television series from HBO that began its reign over global television in 2011, revolutionized the very genre of fantasy fiction. Game of Thrones is an adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s best-selling book series. A Song of Ice and Fire. The Game of Thrones series brought the books to life, and gave Martin’s fictional world an opportunity to expand to a much larger audience globally. Martin’s series has a primary focus on human relations between the great many factions and families that embody the political fiction of the world they live in. How is each character and house connected, and what influence does each connection have to influence the plot and story of the Game of Thrones series? In this investigative essay, I will be analyzing the significance of the characters and houses in relation to each other with that question in mind, and their development as political figures throughout the series.
The Game of Thrones series revolves around the Great Houses which rule the Seven Kingdoms in this world. Of those Great Houses, Martin specifically focuses on House Stark, House Lannister, House Targaryen, House Baratheon, House Tyrell, and House Bolton. The relationships of these houses and the people that represent them are highly complex, and have astounding depth to them. Season One begins with the Stark family. At the beginning of the series, Eddard Stark, current Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, is married to Catelyn Tully. They have five legitimate children: Robb Stark, Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, Bran Stark, and Rickon Stark. Eddard also has a bastard son, Jon Snow. Eddard Stark is made Hand of the King to the ruler of the Iron Throne at that time, Robert Baratheon.
Robert Baratheon was married to Cersei Lannister, and had three children: Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen. Under the rule of Robert Baratheon, the Starks and the current royal house had cordial relations politically. Following the death of Robert Baratheon in a boar hunt, Joffrey Baratheon was made Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. House Baratheon was also split into three factions: Those led by Joffrey, those led by Stannis Baratheon (Robert’s younger brother), and those led by Renly Baratheon (Robert’s youngest brother).
House Lannister, at the beginning of Season One, had Tywin Lannister as the head of the House. He had three children with his cousin, Joanna Lannister: Jaime, Cersei, and Tyrion Lannister. Although the Lannisters take a backseat role in Season One, they have a profound impact on the story in later seasons. Joffrey taking the throne essentially passed the throne’s power onto House Lannister. Although Joffrey was incredibly selfish and self-centered, his mother had a particularly powerful effect on how the kingdom was run after the transfer of power to Joffrey. Without the knowledge of Joffrey, the Lannisters were solidifying their power at King’s Landing.
Following the death of Robert, Joffrey’s reign as king becomes a ruthless one. Joffrey became betrothed to Sansa Stark in order to solidify relations to the two houses. However, following the death of Robert, Joffrey ordered the execution of Eddard Stark under the false accusation of treason. Following this, the relationship nurtured by Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon was diminished instantly. With both original heads of both houses dead, their titles passed on to their heirs. Joffrey Baratheon taking hold of the Iron Throne, and Robb Stark took the title of King of the North. Due to this development, the Stark family was scattered. Arya barely escaped King’s Landing with her life, while Sansa was essentially held captive at King’s Landing by Joffrey. Jon Snow, at the beginning of the season, was sent to the Wall in the north to serve in the Night’s Watch. Robb Stark, enraged by his father’s ruthless execution, departed for King’s Landing from Winterfell, leaving Brann and Rickon in the hands of Theon Greyjoy, who served as a ward for the Starks. Following Robb Stark’s departure, Theon plotted to take over Winterfell in the name of his house, Greyjoy. Threatened by this, Brann and Rickon are forced to flee.
This development in the series essentially begins the War of the Five Kings. Joffrey seeks to defend the Iron Throne from Robb Stark, Stannis Baratheon, Renly Baratheon, and Balon Greyjoy (Ruler of the Iron Islands and father of Theon Greyjoy). With Joffrey at the throne, the Lannisters arguably hold the most power at this point in the series. The Starks have been scattered, the other Baratheons are not powerful yet, and Balon Greyjoy is only now beginning to plot his attempt to secure the Iron Throne.
While all of this is happening, elsewhere, the Targaryens are plotting to reclaim the Iron Throne. Before the reign of Robert Baratheon, Aerys II, also known as the Mad King, ruled from the Iron Throne. Aerys II had three children: Rhaegar, Viserys, and Daenerys Targaryen. Robert’s Rebellion ended with the death of both Aerys II and Rhaegar, leaving Viserys and Daenerys to be exiled. At the start of the show, Viserys forces his sister to marry Khal Drogo of the dothraki people in order to receive their help in taking back the Iron Throne. In the end, Daenerys grows distant from Viserys as his ambition and greed become clear to her. Khal Drogo eventually kills Viserys. Soon after, Drogo falls ill. His death marks a transition period for Daenerys. During Drogo’s funeral pyre, Daenerys steps into the fire where the dragon eggs that she received as a wedding gift reside. When the fire is extinguished, Daenerys emerges from the fire unharmed, but not alone. The three dragon eggs had hatched, making her the Mother of Dragons.
One interesting point about the Targaryens is that, after Robert’s Rebellion, they have had little to no contact with the characters from the other houses. Only recently, in Season Five, was her first time speaking to Tyrion Lannister. Despite this fact, Daenerys Targaryen holds heavy influence in the Game of Thrones series, and is very likely to fight for the Iron Throne once again in upcoming episodes. Her relationship to the rest of the houses is distant, yet close. She is far from them, yet she holds just as much, if not more power than most of the competing houses in the show.
A key faction in Game of Thrones that is often overlooked is the Frey House. It is headed by Walder Frey. Their house controls the the Twins and the Green Fork, a strategically important crossroad in the Seven Kingdoms. In order to reach King’s Landing, Robb Stark asked for the help of Walder Frey as well as permission to cross the Green Fork. In return, Stark vowed to marry one of the many children of Walder Frey. However, in falling in love with his own woman, Robb Stark was unable to keep his vow. As a result, the Boltons, who originally had sworn allegiance to the Starks, plotted with the Freys to murder Robb Stark and his family. At the infamous Red Wedding, Robb Stark, his wife, and mother are all murdered at the scene.
Once again, the death of the Warden of the North and Stark causes a ripple to appear in the relationship between the kingdoms. The Boltons take hold of the North. Roose Bolton becomes Warden of the North. Lannisters and Joffrey are elated by the news. The Starks officially have almost no influence in the political sphere of the Seven Kingdoms after this moment. Jon Snow is still part of the Night’s Watch, Sansa the wife of Joffrey Baratheon, Arya presumed dead after her escape from King’s Landing following her father’s execution, and Brann and Rickon are also presumed dead, killed by Theon Greyjoy who had seized Winterfell in the name of House Greyjoy while Robb was absent. The political and social status of the Starks have officially diminished, and has fallen out of favor after the death of Robb Stark. Even to the most recent episode, as the series currently stands, the Starks are at the bottom of the Great House hierarchy.
At the news of the death of Robert Baratheon, another Baratheon stood to claim the throne. Renly Baratheon, youngest brother of Robert Baratheon, looked to seize the throne from Joffrey, who he believed to be a madman. He was also in competition with his older brother, Stannis Baratheon, who also claimed the throne to be his, being the eldest of the two remaining brothers. Renly Baratheon married Margaery Tyrell, daughter of Mace Tyrell, the ruler of The Reach. The Tyrell house is also considered to be one of the Great Houses in the Seven Kingdoms. By marrying a Tyrell and producing an heir, Renly Baratheon would possibly have greater claim to the throne than his older brother, Stannis. However, Renly Baratheon is killed by a shadow summoned by the Red Witch Melisandre. According to Brienne of Tarth, a female soldier who swore allegiance to Renly Baratheon, it took the shape of Stannis Baratheon.
This brings up the brother of Renly Baratheon, Stannis, Stannis Baratheon also claims the Iron Throne to be his following the death of his older brother. Stannis claims that Joffrey is a product of incest, therefore does not have the right to the Iron Throne. In an attempt to take back the throne, Stannis employs the assistance of the Red Woman Melisandre, a priestess of the Lord of Light. Melisandre is a deceptive woman who convinces Stannis that he is the chosen one to take the Iron Throne. Driven by his ambition, Stannis uses the powers of the Lord of Light to achieve his goals, such as the assassination of his younger brother. Following the death of Renly, Stannis assumes command of both his own forces as well as Renly’s. Using this as an opportunity, Stannis attacks King’s Landing at the Battle of the Blackwater. Due to Tyrion’s surprise attack, Stannis is defeated at the Battle of the Blackwater. Discouraged by this defeat, Stannis is left in a state of turmoil following this event. This leaves Joffrey, the only Baratheon faction still left standing powerfully, to retain his position as Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. Due to this turn of events, the Lannisters still hold the most political power in the series at this point.
After the death of Renly Baratheon, Margaery Tyrell moves to King’s Landing, where she is wed to Joffrey to become the official Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. This is a major political power shift in the series. The Tyrells are attempting to gain control of the Iron Throne through Margaery Tyrell’s status as the Queen. Just as the Lannisters influence Joffrey Baratheon’s rule, the Tyrell’s are employing the same principle in manipulating Joffrey. Due to this, Cersei Lannister has a resentment towards Margaery, as they both seek to manipulate the crown in order to seize power.
The Purple Wedding would also signify a political shift in power. The Purple Wedding was the official marriage between Margaery Tyrell and Joffrey Baratheon. At the wedding, Joffrey Lannister is killed by poison in the wine. This initiated a few things. Sansa Stark escapes with Baelish to the Eyrie, where her mother’s sister, Lysa Arryn rules. Lysa Arryn is the sister of Catelyn Stark, and widow of Jon Arryn, the previous Hand of the King. Tyrion Lannister is accused of killing Joffrey, and is imprisoned under the order of his sister, Cersei. Tommen assumes the Iron Throne. Tommen Baratheon is a very weak king, and is only king in name. Most of the politics are promptly handled by his grandfather, Tywin Lannister. Margaery as well as the Tyrells also see this as an even greater opportunity to seize political power. Margaery is promptly married to Tommen. Due to Tommen’s meek and immature nature, Margaery is able to easily convince Tommen to do whatever she asks. As a result, the political struggle at King’s Landing silently rages on between the Tyrells and the Lannisters.
Meanwhile, Stannis Baratheon is recovering from his loss at Blackwater. Melisandre reassures him that he is the Chosen One, and that he will take the Iron Throne. Soon after his recovery from his depression, Stannis is informed of the White Walker threat brewing in the north. Believing the threat of the White Walkers to be greater than the current political war he is fighting, Stannis is convinced to ride north to assist the Night’s Watch in the defense of humankind versus the White Walkers.
Following the death of Robb Stark, the Boltons began to make their move. The Boltons are granted Winterfell and control of the north by Tywin Lannister as a reward for their betrayal of the Starks at the Red Wedding. Ramsay Snow, the bastard son of Roose Bolton is told to take care of the ironborn who occupied the north at the time, along with Theon Greyjoy. Through ruthless tactics, Theon is captured by Ramsay, and is heavily tortured. Through the torture and removal of Theon’s manhood, Theon is trained and conditioned into becoming Reek, a submissive beastlike transformation of Theon Greyjoy that serves Ramsay Snow. This is also an important political development as well, as it makes the last Prince of the Iron Islands into a mere dog of the Boltons. Using Reek, Ramsay is easily able to seize control of the north for the Boltons. Due to his success, Roose Bolton names Ramsay his official heir, and renames him Ramsay Bolton.
This development raises more political issues. This development makes Ramsay the next in line to take the title of Warden of the North. However, Ramsay Bolton is now without a way to produce a fit heir. As a result, if Roose Bolton produces a male child with Walda Frey, his wife, then that child is likely to become the official heir instead of Ramsay. Ramsay is then prompted to find a wife, which will eventually be Sansa Stark.
After Sansa Stark is taken to the Eyrie by Baelish, Baelish ends up killing Sansa’s aunt due to her jealousy and hate for Sansa Stark, who Baelish values highly. Promptly after, Baelish sends Sansa into the hands of Ramsay Bolton, so that the two can be wed. By marrying a Stark, Ramsay can solidify his claim to be the next Warden of the North. As a result, at this point in the show, the political power lies in the hands of the Lannisters, Tyrells, and the Boltons.
As for Daenerys Targaryen, although she has no actual political influence on the Seven Kingdoms as of yet, her latent potential to take over the Iron Throne has grown immensely throughout the seasons. After the birth of her dragons, she travels to a nearby city known as Qarth. There she is manipulated by men from the Council of Thirteen. The warlock attempts to take her dragons away from her, while Xaro attempts to take Daenerys as a wife and rule instead. Both attempts fail, and she acquires the ships she needs from Qarth after her success against those two parties. From Qarth, she traveled onwards to Astapor, where she would acquire her large army of Unsullied. Once her army of Unsullied is acquired, she moves onwards to Yunkai, where she liberates the slaves of the city. She achieves this by employing the help of the Second Sons, a mercenary group allied with Yunkai at the time. After convincing the Second Sons to ally with Daenerys, she easily overtakes Yunkai. With these developments, Daenerys has exponentially increased her raw strength, as well as her political viability in relation to the rest of the Houses. She has gained the assistance of dragons, slaves, the Unsullied army, ships, money, and rule over a large piece of land.
At the beginning of Season 5, Stannis arrives at the Wall, and requests the help of the Night’s Watch and the Wildlings in taking back the north from the Boltons. The Night’s Watch cannot interfere with the affairs of the Seven Kingdoms. However, Jon requests the use of Stannis’s fleet in order to move the Wildlings across the Wall to safety. Stannis plans to use the Wildlings to his advantage to take over Winterfell after this is accomplished, so he allows Jon to take the fleet, as long it the fleet is returned. Stannis decides to go ahead and make his move towards Winterfell as this happens. As they approached Winterfell, the Bolton army met them in an open field battle. Stannis and his army, left with barely any men, was defeated by the Bolton army. After his defeat, Brienne of Tarth executed Stannis in revenge for the death of Renly Baratheon. These events also have profound political implications. The War of the Five Kings was a battle between Stannis Baratheon, Joffrey Baratheon, Renly Baratheon, Robb Stark, and Balon Greyjoy. Four out of the five kings that participated in this war are now officially dead, with no actual development on the side of Balon Greyjoy for multiple seasons. Set to return in Season Six, Balon Greyjoy remains as the only surviving king from the War of the Five Kings.
Finally, while this was all happening, a new faction arises in King’s Landing. The old religious cult known as the Faith of the Seven made its return after Tommen Baratheon was named king. Although not political in nature, this faction would still have an extreme influence politically at King’s Landing. The beginning of their political involvement starts with the arrest of Loras Tyrell, brother of Queen Margaery Tyrell, by the Faith Militant, the military group by which the Faith of the Seven enforces their doctrines and beliefs. Due to Brother Lancel’s previous homosexual involvement with Loras, Loras is arrested for his homosexual behavior. Outraged by this development, Margaery Tyrell begs Tommen to do something about it. Through the manipulation of Cersei Lannister in combination with the High Sparrow, she even gets Margaery Tyrell thrown into prison. Later the High Sparrow learns of Cersei’s illicit relationships with Lancel as well. As a result, Cersei Lannister was also imprisoned. Nearing the end of Season Five, she is publicly shamed by the people of King’s Landing. The Faith of the Seven was highly influential in the instability of King’s Landing at the current point in the show. Tommen is a weak king, but has lost both his grandfather, wife, and mother. These were all shadows that loomed over King Tommen and influenced almost every single one of his decisions. Due to death and imprisonment of the greatest political figures at King’s Landing, the political power of the Tyrells have basically diminished, while Cersei is fighting to retain her political influence.
It is clearly evident that Martin’s world behind the Game of Thrones series is highly complex in its relationships between factions and Houses. The analysis of the sheer depth of the characters and the Houses they are part of in the Game of Thrones series has serious implications for the fantasy genre of literature. The series has brought the genre to the forefront of global television, as well as demonstrating just how deep a fictional fantasy story can be. The complex relationships embedded within the series is what entices audiences to continue to dive deeper and deeper into the fictional world of George R.R. Martin’s fantasy. As a result, I thought it fitting to analyze just how intricate the plot behind the Game of Thrones series truly was.